Russia summons UN Security Council meeting to discuss US, UK strikes on Yemen, situation in Gaza

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russia on Friday requested a meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss strikes by the US and UK on Yemen.

The office of the Russian envoy to the UN Security Council said in a statement that there would be two meetings of the council, with the first to be devoted to the situation in the Middle East, including the matter of Palestine.

It will focus on the threat of forced displacement of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. EST (2000GMT).

This will be followed by an "open briefing" convened on the initiative of Russia in connection with the US and UK strikes on Yemen. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected to speak at the event.

The US and UK carried out strikes on multiple targets inside Yemen late Thursday.

The attacks came in response to ongoing drone and missile strikes by the Yemeni Houthi group on international shipping lanes in the Red Sea that began in November in response to Israel's war on Gaza.

The Red Sea is a critical waterway for international commerce, particularly for oil and fuel shipments, connecting the Suez Canal in Egypt with the Gulf of Aden via the Bab al-Mandab Strait. The Suez Canal allows ships coming to and from Europe to transit to Asia without having to take the much longer and costlier route around the southern tip of Africa.

The Houthis have carried out 27 attacks in the Red Sea since Nov. 19, the US military said on Thursday.